Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Home

Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Home

If you can’t find everything you want in an already existing home, sometimes the best way to go is to build one from scratch. Whether you plan on building it yourself or getting someone else to build it for you, you can make sure your home is exactly what you dreamed of.

But if there’s one thing you don’t want, it’s for your dream home to turn into your worst nightmare, so you want to make sure that the building of your home is done right, and no mistakes are made along the way. To help the build of your home run smoothly and successfully, here are some commonly made mistakes to avoid.

Putting cost before quality

None of us want to spend more than we have to, there’s no shame in scrimping and saving where we can, but having an unrealistically low budget probably won’t do your home any good in the long run.

The first hurdle that people often fall at is when choosing a home builder. You’ll get a lot of different quotes from a lot of different home builders, and it can be tempting to go with the lowest price. More often than not, those whose prices are drastically lower than other quotes you’ve been given are so because you’re not receiving a quality service.

It’s worth questioning each quote you’re given, and asking what exactly you’ll be paying for and where your money will go. You could also get a second opinion before making any confirmed decisions about your home builder. You might find that it’s worth paying that bit more to be sure of quality.

The same goes for when choosing building materials, cheaper materials might be more appealing to your bank account, but in the long run, it pays off to invest in materials that can stand the test of time.

Not having a clear written agreement

Both you and your home builder need to know exactly how to proceed with the building of your home, and how much it is going to cost. Without a clear written agreement, everything is technically up in the air, and not legitimate at all.

A written agreement or a contract can help resolve potential issues regarding prices and design decisions, and can set out a clear deadline for the completion of the build. You’ll also need to think about when and how your home builder will have access to the site of your new home.

The importance of having a written agreement can’t be stressed enough. Without one you might find that fixed prices aren’t fixed at all, and delays are much more likely. You’ll also struggle to resolve disputes or problems that arise, if you and your builder are in doubt about the initial terms of the build.

You can use a written agreement or you can hire a contract administrator to write you a contract, but either way it’s definitely worth doing and will save you hassle in the long run. If you’re building a home on your own, there are homeowner contracts that will make sure you’re covered and protected during your build.

Not preparing for delays

Building a home can present some unexpected challenges, and overcoming them might delay your move in date.

When building a home, it’s always best to plan and prepare for possible delays, so that you have time to make sure things run smoothly. This is particularly important if you’re building in the months of winter, as bad weather can interrupt your progress.

If you expect delays, an on time finish will still be appreciated and an early one will be a pleasant surprise.

Not thinking about lighting

People often put all of their time and thought into planning the overall structure of the house, and forget to plan one of the most important features – windows. Without natural lighting even the biggest of houses can feel dark and not particularly homely.

Plan where to place your windows, and think about the position of the sun throughout the day when doing this. Also think about what size windows would work well with your build. Skylights are also a good option for increasing the amount of natural light in your home, and can make rooms feel bigger.

Overbuilding

It can be easy to go overboard, and design a home with more space than you could ever possibly need. You might think that you can never have too much space, but think about the practicalities of a home that’s too large. It will cost more to run, take more time more time to clean, you probably won’t use all of the space and it will just gather dust and perhaps most importantly, it’s going to dramatically increase the cost of building.

Plan for what you need, otherwise you’ll stuck with more room than you know what to do with, and building costs that you’ll be reluctant to pay.

Overbuilding in a neighbourhood that’s full of smaller houses can also be a mistake. The plot might have been cheaper to buy in a less expensive neighbourhood, but if you then build an overly large home it may end up looking out of place. If you decide to sell at a later date, you might also find that because of the location, no matter how impressive the house you’ve built, it won’t sell for what it might be worth elsewhere.

Summary

Avoid these mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to building your dream home. Most of the commonly made mistakes are due to poor planning and rushed decisions, and you’d be surprised how easy it is to let go of your rationality as you start getting excited about the building of your home. Just make sure you keep your head screwed on, and you do everything by the book. You don’t want this to be a stressful process, it should be one full of excitement. After all, you’re not just making a house, but a home.

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